EP2570304B1

EP2570304B1 - A load carrier foot for a vehicle roof rack

Info

Publication number: EP2570304B1
Application number: EP11181665.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Anders Lundgren
Original assignee: Thule Sweden AB
Current assignee: Thule Sweden AB
Priority date: 2011-09-16
Filing date: 2011-09-16
Publication date: 2017-06-14
Anticipated expiration: 2031-09-16
Also published as: CN103857561B; KR20140051414A; EP2570304A1; JP2014526414A; KR101629114B1; AU2012307737A1; EP2755863A1; US9421918B2; US20140224850A1; JP5883934B2; CA2847043C; WO2013037558A1; RU2014114936A; AU2012307737B2; BR112014005814A2; EP2755863B1; BR112014005814B1; CA2847043A1; CN103857561A

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a load carrying foot for a vehicle. The load carrying roof rack has a load carrying bar adapted to extend across the surface of the roof of the vehicle during use. The present invention also relates to a load carrying roof rack having at least one load carrying foot. The load carrying foot comprises a lock arrangement to attach, or fix, the load carrying bar in at least one position using a wedge member and at least one displaceable locking member.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle roof racks, also known as load carrier roof racks, have recently been subjected to special attention. While safety and easy handling are still key words, wind resistance and air turbulence have started to be more and more important. Load carrying bars, or transverse cross bar provides for wind turbulence when a vehicle is moving.
As a vehicle moves and as the wind passes the load carrying bar turbulent flow of air is produced; this is especially the case when a load carrier roof rack carries no load. The turbulent flow of air produces noise and increases the overall wind resistance of the vehicle, and thereby the fuel consumption.
The patent publication of DE 10012905 (A1) discloses a roof rack with a transverse member, or cross member, having a streamlined profile (droplet-shaped or oval) to reduce air resistance and to create a downward-directed aerodynamic force. Turbulence barriers or flow breakaway edges are fitted to the top and bottom of the cross member to reduce wind noise.
The patent publication no. DE 2,227,459 discloses a roof rack according to the preamble of claim 1 having two load carrier feet and a load carrying bar extending there between. The load carrying bar is retained to the each load carrier foot via a wedge mechanism acting on the inside of the load carrying bar in the vertical direction. The wedge mechanism is operable via a screw. A separate retaining mechanism retains the load carrier foot to the vehicle roof.

SUMMARY

There are some drawbacks to the known prior art. The connection between the load carrier feet and the load carrier bar is not very sophisticated. Generally they tend to be space consuming, thus requiring a compromise between the ability provide for a low wind resistance and the ability to safely secure the load carrier foot to the load carrier bar. It is an object of the present invention to at least partly solve this drawback, or to at least provide for a useful alternative. More specifically is the object met by a load carrier foot for a load carrying roof rack for a vehicle. The load carrying foot is adapted to be connected with a load carrying bar having a longitudinal extension, a height and a width.
A lock arrangement for attaching the load carrying bar to the load carrying foot, comprising a tensioning member operable to displace a wedge member along the longitudinal extension of the load carrying bar. The wedge member is arranged in working cooperation with at least one displaceable locking member, wherein upon displacement of the wedge member, the displaceable locking member abuts an inner surface of the load carrying bar to thereby retain the load carrying bar to the load carrying foot in a locked position. The at least one displaceable locking member is at least partly displaced along a direction corresponding to the width of the load carrying bar when the load carrying bar is mounted on the vehicle. The load carrier foot further comprises a support surface adapted to rest against a first surface of the vehicle. The lock arrangement is adapted to impart a clamping force between the first surface of the vehicle and parts of the lock arrangement, to thereby retain the load carrier foot to the vehicle.
The present invention provides for a load carrier foot having a locking arrangement which consumes little space inside of the load carrier bar, and especially in the height direction of the load carrying bar.
According to an aspect, the displaceable locking member comprises a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is adapted to be displaced a greater distance than the second portion, and the wedge member is adapted to be displaced in a direction from the first portion to the second portion of the displaceable locking member during the displacement to the locked position. This enables the locking members to extend from the body of the load carrier foot and thus to extend through an opening at the end of the load carrier bar. No slit or extra opening is required in the load carrying bar to lock the load carrier bar to the load carrier foot. The load carrying bar does not need to extend past the load carrier foot in a protruding manner, which is generally referred to as a "flush" load carrier foot.
According to an aspect, the lock arrangement comprises a first and a second displaceable locking member, and the first and the second displaceable locking members are formed by one unitary piece of material. They can also be formed integrally with the body of the load carrier foot or be formed by separate pieces attached thereto. By forming the first and the second displaceable locking member integrally with the body of the load carrier foot, the load carrier foot can be form molded in an easy manner. According to an aspect, the lock arrangement comprises a first and a second displaceable locking member, and the first and the second displaceable locking members are formed by separate elements.
According to an aspect, the wedge member extends substantially between the first and second displaceable locking members.
According to an aspect, the lock arrangement comprises a clamping member adapted to cooperate with the first surface of the vehicle to thereby impart a clamping force. The clamping member is operable via a sledge and the wedge member is in working cooperation with the sledge via the tensioning member, so that upon operation of the tensioning member the sledge and the wedge member are displaced with respect to each other.
According to an aspect, the at least one displaceable locking member comprises at least one slip surface. The sledge and the wedge member slips on the at least one slip surface of the at least one displaceable locking member during the displacement, i.e. when the tensioning member is operated.
According to an aspect, the slip surface of the displaceable locking member(s) is formed by a groove. The groove is arranged on the displaceable locking member and generally serves the purpose of guiding the wedge member to prevent the wedge member form being misaligned or from being pinched.
According to an aspect the clamping member is formed by a strap element, or by a rigid bracket member. A part of the strap element or the rigid bracket can be detachably connected to the sledge.
According to an aspect, the tensioning member is a rotateable tensioning member, such as a screw.
According to an aspect, the load carrier foot comprises a body having a cavity; the cavity is adapted to receive at least a part of the load carrying bar, preferably the first end of the load carrying bar.
According to an aspect, the cavity of the body cooperates with the at least one displaceable locking member to retain the load carrying bar to the load carrying foot in the locked position.
According to an aspect, the load carrier foot comprises a body, and wherein the at least one displaceable locking member is formed integrally with the body. In an embodiment, at least two displaceable locking members are formed integrally with the body. This provides a load carrier foot with very few parts, reduces the amount of time required to assemble the load carrier foot.
According to an aspect, the displaceable locking member is a deformable locking member. The deformable locking member can deform to thereafter return to its original form after deformation.
According to an aspect, the deformable locking member comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion is adapted to deform to a greater extent than the second portion. The wedge member is further adapted to be displaced in a direction from the first portion to the second portion of the deformable locking member during the deformation to the locked position.
According to an aspect, the present invention also relates to a load carrying roof rack for a vehicle comprising a first and a second load carrier foot according to claim 1, or as described in any of the embodiments herein, and a load carrying bar.
According to an aspect, the at least one of the first and second load carrier foot is adapted to retain the load carrying bar at a plurality of different positions with respect to the load carrier foot, thereby enabling the distance between the first and the second load carrying foot to be adjusted to fit a variety of vehicle of different sizes.
According to an aspect, the load carrying roof rack comprises means for biasing the load carrying bar towards a steady state position with respect to the first and second load carrying foot.
According to an aspect, the load carrying bar comprises a front inner surface and a rear inner surface, and the at least one displaceable locking member is adapted to be displaced against at least one of the front inner surface or the rear inner surface of the load carrying bar.
According to an aspect, the lock arrangement comprises a first and a second displaceable locking member. The first displaceable locking member is adapted to be displaced against the rear inner surface, and in that the second displaceable locking member is adapted to be displaced against the front inner surface of the load carrying bar.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail and with reference to the accompanying figures in which;

figure 1 shows a schematic figure of parts of a vehicle having a load carrying roof rack attached comprising a first and a second load carrier foot according to an embodiment of the present invention and a load carrying bar extending there between;
figure 2 show a load carrier foot according to an embodiment of the present invention without the load carrying bar and with the mechanism exposed, and parts of a rail of a vehicle;
figure 3 show the load carrier foot from figure 2 with the load carrying bar and with the mechanism exposed, and parts of a rail of a vehicle;
figure 4 shows a cross section of the load carrying bar from figure 3;
figure 5 show the load carrier foot from figure 2 and 3 as seen from the side;
figure 6 show a cross section along C-C from figure 5;
figure 7 show the load carrier foot from figure 2 and 3 as seen from above;
figure 8 show a cross section along D-D from figure 7 and;
figure 9 shows the load carrier foot from figure 2 as seen from one side and with a view towards a cavity of the body of the load carrier foot adapted to receive the first end of the load carrying bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the following embodiment(s). Figure 1 shows parts of a vehicle 10 having a roof 11. A load carrying roof rack 20 with a first and a second load carrier foot 21, 22 is arranged to the roof 11. A load carrying bar 23 extends between the first and the second load carrier foot 21, 22. In the embodiment shown in figure 1, the distance, indicated by the reference D in figure 1, between the first and the second load carrier foot 21, 22 can be changed to adjust the load carrying roof rack 20 to vehicles of different sizes.
For the purpose of orientation, the load carrying bar 23 has a length Ll which extends across the roof 11 of the vehicle 10, a height HI and a width Wl. The width Wl of the load carrying bar 23 extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10. A Z axis corresponds to the height Hv of the vehicle 10 and the height HI of the load carrying bar 23; a X axis corresponds to the width Wv of the vehicle 10 and the length Ll of the load carrying bar 23; a Y axis corresponds to the length Lv of the vehicle 10 and the width Wl of the load carrying bar 23.
Figure 2 shows the first load carrying foot 21 in greater detail; hereafter only referred to as the load carrying foot 21. The load carrying foot 21 comprises a body 24 having a support surface 25 adapted to abut against a first surface of the vehicle 10. The first surface of the vehicle 10 can be a surface of the roof 11 of the vehicle 10 or optionally a surface of a rail as shown in figure 2, such as a flush rail or similar. The support surface 25 is adapted to cooperate with a retaining arrangement 30, to retain and secure the load carrying foot 21 to the vehicle 10. The retaining arrangement 30 can be of different types such as clamping type, fix point type, or any other retaining mechanism.
The load carrying bar 23 of the load carrier foot 21 is adapted to be locked to the load carrier foot 21 at a plurality of different positions using a lock arrangement 40, thus enabling the distance D between the first and the second load carrier foot 21, 22 to be changed. The lock arrangement 40 can however also be used to lock the load carrier bar 23 at a single position only if desired.
The lock arrangement 40 comprises a tensioning member 41 by which the lock arrangement 40 can be operated. In the embodiment shown in figure 2, the tensioning member is a rotateable member, in this case a screw 42.
The tensioning member 41 is in working cooperation with a wedge member 43. When the tensioning member 41 is operated, the wedge member 43 is displaced between at least a first and a second position. In cases of a screw 42; when the screw 42 is rotated, the wedge member 43 is displaced between the first and the second positions as will be described in greater detail below.
The tensioning member 41, i.e. the screw 42, is positioned so that after assembly with the load carrying bar 23, the screw 42 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the load carrying bar 23, i.e. along the X axis and the length Ll of the load carrying bar 23. This enables the screw 42 upon rotation to displace the wedge member 43 in a direction along the length Ll of the load carrying bar 23.
The wedge member 43 is further arranged in working cooperation with at least one displaceable locking member 44. The displaceable locking member 44 is adapted to cooperate with a surface of the load carrying bar 23, and more specifically with an inner surface of the load carrying bar 23. When the locking member 44 properly engages the surface of the load carrying bar 23, the load carrying bar 23 is secured to the load carrier foot 23 and prevented from being displaced. The means of engagement between the displaceable locking member 44 and the surface of the load carrying bar 23 can be friction. It is also possible that the locking member 44 cooperates with a flange or a corrugated surface to improve the friction and the locking capabilities of the displaceable locking member 44.
The wedge member 43 comprises at least one slip surface 43s, which is adapted to slip on the cooperating displaceable locking member 44 upon displacement of the wedge member 43. In the shown embodiment the slip surface 43s is positioned directly adjacent the displaceable locking member 44, it is however possible that an intermediate material layer or intermediate member is present. The wedge member 43 has a substantially elongated flat form. The elongated extension of the wedge member 43 extends along the Y axis, i.e. the width Wl of the load carrying bar 23 after assembly. The flat form of the wedge member 43 is advantageous due to the restricted height HI of the load carrying bar 23. In the shown embodiment of figures 2-9, the wedge member 43 comprises two slip surfaces 43s arranged at a first and a second end of the wedge member 43. Substantially at the centre of the wedge member 43 and between the two slip surfaces 43s, is a threaded aperture in which the tensioning member 41, in this case the screw 42, is threaded.
The at least one displaceable locking member is at least partly displaced along a direction corresponding to the width Wl of the load carrying bar 23 as indicated by the arrows A in figure 2. This enables the load carrying bar 23 to be manufactured with a very small height HI, which in turn reduces the wind resistance when driving the vehicle 10.
The load carrier foot 21 can be arranged with at least one displaceable locking member, optionally at least two displaceable locking members. In the embodiment shown figure 2-9, the wedge member 43 extends between a first and a second displaceable locking member 44, 45. When the wedge member 43 is displaced, both the displaceable locking members 44, 45 are displaced to respectively abut an inner surface of the load carrying bar 23.
Figure 3 shows the load carrier foot 21 after assembly with the load carrying bar 23. For the sake of clarity, parts of the mechanisms are shown. The load carrying bar 23 can be manufactured from extruded aluminum or other suitable material. Using a load carrier foot, according to the present invention, the load carrying bar does not need specific openings or cavities or the like to be attached to the load carrier foot. Instead, the load carrying bar 23, can be manufactured simply by cutting off a load carrying bar from a master piece, e.g. during extrusion or afterwards when an extruded piece is cut into appropriate lengths. This simplifies and reduces the costs of the production of the load carrying bars.
The load carrying bar 23 can have a variety of different cross sections. Figure 4 shows a cross section of the load carrying bar 23. As is noticed, the cross section is drop formed to provide for a wing like profile to the load carrying bar 23 to reduce the wind resistance. The load carrying bar 23 has an outer surface 26, and an inner surface 27. The height HI and the width Wl of the load carrying bar 23 is illustrated with arrows. The inner surface 27 of the load carrying bar 23 has a front inner surface 28 and a rear inner surface 29. The front inner surface 28 is intended to be positioned towards the main direction of travel and thus towards the front of the vehicle 10 during use, i.e. after load carrying roof rack 20 has been assembled with the vehicle 10. The rear inner surface 29 is intended to be positioned towards the rear of the vehicle 10 during use, i.e. after load carrying roof rack 10 has been assembled with the vehicle 10.
Figure 5 shows the load carrier foot 21 from the side and the figure 6 shows a cross section of the load carrier foot 21 along a section C-C. The load carrying bar 23 has a first and a second end 23a, 23b, as shown in figure 1, which each has a rim 23r (of which only one is shown in figure 6). The rim 23r of the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23 is shown in figures 5-8 and as there is no slits or cut outs at the first end 23a, the rim 23r defines a single plane P, indicated by the dashed lines in figures 6 and 8. The lock arrangement 40 extends through the single plane P and thus intersects with the single plane P, independently of the position of the longitudinal bar 23. The lock arrangement 40 thus extends into the interior void of the load carrying bar 23 from the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23 as is seen in figures 6-8.
Turning to figure 6, when the wedge member 43 is displaced, both the displaceable locking members 44, 45 are displaced to respectively abut an inner surface of the load carrying bar 23, in this case the front inner surface 28 and the rear inner surface 29. It should be noted however that the cross section of the load carrying bar 23 could be partitioned by one or more inner walls, e.g. to provide for rigidity to the load carrying bar 23. In such cases, it is possible that at least one of the displaceable locking members 44, 45 abuts a partition wall of the load carrying bar 23, which is also considered to be an inner wall of the load carrying bar 23.
The first and the second displaceable locking members 44, 45 can be a first and a second deformable locking member 44, 45 as shown in figures 2-9. The term deformable is to be interpreted as elastically deformable. The deformable locking members 44, 45 are adapted to be deformed when the wedge member 43 is displaced, so as to abut the front and rear inner surfaces 28, 29 of the load carrying bar 23. Each of the deformable locking members 44, 45 is formed by an elongated body 50, 51 having a first and a second end 50a, 50b, 51 a, 51 b. The first ends 50a, 51 a of the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 are integrated with the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21. As the wedge member 43 is displaced towards the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23, the second ends 50b, 51 b are displaced to abut the inner surface 27 of the load carrying bar 23, while the first ends 50a, 51 a are not displaced to any significant degree. Should the wedge member 43 be displaced in the opposite direction, i.e. towards the second end 23b of the load carrying bar 23, using the tensioning member 41, the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 would disengage the front and rear inner surfaces 28, 29 of the load carrying bar 23 and return to their original position. The deformation of the first and second deformable locking members 44, 45 are thus dependent upon the elasticity of the material from which the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 are manufactured from. A suitable material could be one or more thermoplastic materials, carbon fiber reinforced material such as reinforced thermoplastic material, fiberglass or the like.
As is shown in figures 6, the wedge member 43 substantially extends between the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 and slips on a first and a second slip surface 60, 61, arranged on the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 respectively, during displacement. The wedge member 43 thus extends between the first and the second slip surfaces 60, 61, arranged on the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45.
The deformable locking members 44, 45 each comprise a first portion and a second portion 44a, 44b, 45a, 45b. The first portion 44a, 45a is being adapted to be displaced, or deformed, a greater distance than the second portion 44b, 45b of the deformable locking members 44, 45. The wedge member 43 is adapted to be displaced in a direction from the first portion 44b, 45b to the second portion 44a, 45a of the deformable locking members 44, 45 during the deformation towards a locked position, and in the opposite direction towards an unlocked position. When reaching the locked position, the wedge member 43 is physically restricted from further movement by the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 and their interaction with the front and the rear inner surfaces 28, 29 of the load carrying bar 23.
The first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 can be manufactured in a unitary piece of material with each other and with the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21, or, they can be attached as separate pieces of material to the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21.
The tensioning member 41 is in the shown embodiment in figures 2-9 cooperating with a sledge 70. The sledge 70 is displaceably arranged with respect to the first and the second deformable members 44, 45 and with respect to the wedge member 43. As is noticed, the sledge 70 is arranged to slip on the slip surfaces 60, 61 which extends along the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45, and thus interacts with the wedge member 43 during operation of the tensioning member 41. The sledge 70 and the wedge member 43 are aligned in the same plane P2 (shown in figure 9 in greater detail), in this embodiment, the plane P2 is defined by the first and the second grooves 62, 63 of the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 and which extends substantially parallel with the length Ll of the load carrying bar 23 after assembly therewith.
The tensioning member 41 extends between the wedge member 43 and the sledge 70 and is adapted to be in working cooperation with the wedge member 43 and the sledge 70. In the shown embodiment, the tensioning member 41 is in the form of a screw 42 having threads. The screw 42 is threadably engaged with the wedge member 43 while being connected with the sledge 70 with a swivel connection, in this case inserted through an aperture 71 on the sledge 70, providing a swivel connection together with a head of the screw 42.
As seen in figure 9, the first and the second slip surfaces 60, 61 are arranged in a first and a second groove 62, 63 in the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 respectively. The first and the second groove 62, 63 provides the function of guiding the wedge member 43 during displacement, thus reducing the risk that the wedge member 43 is misaligned, and are in the shown embodiment formed in the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 respectively. However instead of grooves, guiding pins, or guiding walls, are possible.
The body 24 of the load carrying foot 21 is adapted to at least partly enclose parts of the load carrying bar 23 after assembly, as can be seen in figure 3, 5 and 7 for example.
More specifically, the body 24 of the load carrying foot 21 comprises a cavity 80, more clearly shown in figure 9, into which the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23 can be inserted. In the shown embodiment, the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 forms deformable slot portions 81 together with the cavity 80 of the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21, adapted to fix the load carrying bar 23 to the load carrying foot 21. The cavity 80, alone or together with parts of the lock arrangement 40, provides a guiding function, or a guiding arrangement, to the load carrying bar 23. Such guiding function is advantageous when the distance between the first and the second load carrier foot 21, 22 is adjusted.
During assembly, the load carrying bar 23 is inserted into the cavity 80 of the load carrying foot 21 by an end user or in a factory environment during manufacturing of the load carrying roof rack 20. The load carrying roof rack 20 is thereafter positioned across the roof 11 of the vehicle 10 and the support surface 25 of the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21 is positioned to rest at the appropriate surface of the vehicle 10, for example on a rail of the vehicle 10 as shown in figure 2 for example.
As further seen in figures 2 and 8, a clamping member, in this case a strap element 90 having a first and a second end 91, 92 is used in the shown embodiment to attach the load carrier foot 21 to the vehicle 10. The first end 91 of the strap element 90 is attached to the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21 and the second end 92 is detachably arranged to the sledge 70 of the load carrier foot 21. The load carrier foot 21 is attached to the vehicle 10 by wrapping the strap element 90 around the rail of the vehicle 10 and thereafter attach the second end 92 of the strap element 90 to the sledge 70 of the load carrier foot 21, as shown in figure 3. The strap element 90 is flexible in the sense that it permits to be wrapped or folded around another element. It can be resilient or not resilient.
As the tensioning member 41, i.e. the screw 42, is rotated, the sledge 70 is displaced towards the wedge member 43 to tighten the strap element 90 as indicated by the arrow A2 in figure 2, at some point the strap element 90 is unable to be further tightened. The sledge 70 is at this point restraining the screw 42 at the swivel connection, and the wedge member 43 is displaced from the first position, shown in figure 2, to a second position, in which the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 abuts the front and rear inner surfaces 28, 29 of the load carrying bar 23. During the displacement of the wedge member 43, the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 are deformed so that the distance between the second ends 50b, 51 b of the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 are increased. As the distance between the second ends 50b, 51 b of the first and the second deformable locking members increase, the second ends 50b, 51 b will eventually abut the front and rear inner surfaces 28, 29 of the load carrying bar 23 and thus fix the load carrying bar 23 to the load carrying foot 21.
The first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 are thus simultaneously deformed when screw 42 is rotated, either to fix the load carrying bar 23 to the body 24 of the load carrying foot 21, or to disengage the first and the second deformable locking members 44, 45 from the inner surface 27 of the load carrying bar 23.
Instead of a strap element 90 to secure the load carrying foot 21 to the roof 11 of the vehicle 10, a clamping bracket can be used. Clamping brackets usually cooperates with a support surface of the load carrier foot and imparts a clamping force between parts of the clamping bracket and the support surface to secure the load carrier foot.
In an embodiment the body 24 of the load carrier foot 21 is not provided with a cavity into which the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23 can be inserted. Instead, the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23 can be arranged to rest on a load carrying bar support surface during use. However, the first end 23a of the load carrying bar 23 is still enclosing parts of, or all of, the lock arrangement 40.
The second load carrying foot 22 of the load carrying roof rack 20 can be of the same type as the first load carrying foot 21 or optionally be of conventional type.

Claims

A load carrier foot (21, 22) for a load carrying roof rack (20) for a vehicle (10), said load carrier foot (21, 22) being adapted to be connected with a load carrying bar (23) having a longitudinal extension (LI), a height (HI) and a width (Wl),
a lock arrangement (40) for attaching said load carrying bar (23) to said load carrier foot (21, 22), said lock arrangement (40) comprising a tensioning member (42) operable to displace a wedge member (43) along said longitudinal extension (LI) of said load carrying bar (23), said wedge member (43) being arranged in working cooperation with at least one displaceable locking member (44, 45), wherein upon displacement of said wedge member (43), said displaceable locking member (44, 45) abuts an inner surface (27, 28, 29) of said load carrying bar (23) to thereby retain said load carrying bar (23) to said load carrying foot (21, 22) in a locked position, said load carrier foot (21, 22) comprising a support surface (25) adapted to rest against a first surface of said vehicle (10),
characterized in that
said at least one displaceable locking member (44, 45) is at least partly displaced along a direction (Y) corresponding to said width (Wl) of said load carrying bar (23) when said load carrying bar (23) is mounted on said vehicle (10), and in that said lock arrangement (40) is adapted to impart a clamping force between said first surface of said vehicle (10) and parts (90) of said lock arrangement (40), to thereby retain said load carrier foot (21, 22) to said vehicle (10).
The load carrier foot according to claim 1, wherein said displaceable locking member (44, 45) comprises a first portion (44a, 45a) and a second portion (44b, 45b), said first portion (44a, 45a) being adapted to be displaced a greater distance than said second portion (44b, 45b), and in that said wedge member (43) is adapted to be displaced in a direction from said first portion (44a, 45a) to said second portion (44b, 45b) of said displaceable locking member (44, 45) during said displacement.
The load carrier foot according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said lock arrangement (40) comprises a first and a second displaceable locking member (44, 45), said first and said second displaceable locking members (44, 45) can optionally be formed by one unitary piece of material.
The load carrier foot according to claim 3, wherein said wedge member (43) extends substantially between said first and second displaceable locking members (44, 45).
The load carrier foot according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said lock arrangement (40) comprises a clamping member (90) adapted to cooperate with said first surface of said vehicle (10) to thereby impart said clamping force, said clamping member (90) being operable via a sledge (70), said wedge member (43) being in working cooperation with said sledge (70) via said tensioning member (41) so that upon operation of said tensioning member (41) said sledge (70) and said wedge member (43) are displaced with respect to each other.
The load carrier foot according to claim 5, wherein said at least one displaceable locking member (44, 45) comprises at least one slip surface (60, 61), and in that said sledge (70) and said wedge member (43) slip on said at least one slip surface (60, 61) of said at least one displaceable locking member (44, 45) during said displacement.
The load carrier foot according to claim 6, wherein said slip surface (60, 61) of said displaceable locking member (44, 45) is formed by a groove (62, 63).
The load carrier foot according to any of the claims 5-7, wherein at least a part of said clamping member (90) is adapted to be detachably connectable to said sledge (70).
The load carrier foot according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said tensioning member (41) is a rotateable tensioning member, such as a screw (42).
The load carrier foot according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said load carrier foot (21, 22) comprises a body (24) having a cavity (80), said cavity (80) being adapted to receive at least a part of said load carrying bar (23).
The load carrier foot according to claim 10, wherein said cavity (80) of said body (80) cooperates with said at least one displaceable locking member (44, 45) to retain said load carrying bar (23) to said load carrying foot (21, 22) in a locked position.
A load carrying roof rack (20) for a vehicle (10) comprising a first and a second load carrier foot (21, 22) according to any of the preceding claims, and a load carrying bar (23).
The load carrying roof rack (20) according to claim 12, wherein said at least one of said first and second load carrier foot (21, 22) is adapted to retain said load carrying bar (23) at a plurality of different positions with respect to said load carrier foot (21, 22), thereby enabling the distance between said first and said second load carrying foot (21, 22) to be adjusted to fit a variety of vehicles of different sizes.
The load carrying roof rack (20) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said load carrying bar (23) comprises a front inner surface and a rear inner surface (28, 29), and in that said at least one displaceable locking member (44, 45) is adapted to be displaced against at least one of said front inner surface or said rear inner surface (28, 29) of said load carrying bar (23).
The load carrying roof rack (20) according to claim 14, wherein said lock arrangement (40) comprises a first and a second displaceable locking member (44, 45), and in that said first displaceable locking member (44) is adapted to be displaced against said rear inner surface (29), and in that said second displaceable locking member (45) is adapted to be displaced against said front inner surface (28) of said load carrying bar (23).